Drunken driving numbers on the decline nationwide

Updated 8:49 pm, Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The number of incidents of drinking and driving have declined nationwide according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and the sluggish economy may be the key reason.

Recent numbers from the CDC show that between 2006 and 2010, the incidents of drinking and driving dropped by 30 percent. Though the CDC didn't have a clear reason for the decline, Gwen Berger, a behavioral scientist with the center, said there are a number of possible reasons -- many of them economic.

"People have cut back on their leisure driving due to the economic downturn," Berger said.

Also, she said, people seem to be doing their drinking at home as opposed to a bar or restaurant.

Despite the dip, the number of those drinking and driving is still high. In 2010, there were 112 million incidents of drinking and driving in the country, by 4 million adults. Men were responsible for 81 percent of drinking and driving episodes that year and men aged 21 to 34 were responsible for 32 percent of all instances of drinking and driving.

Locally, drinking and driving is still a major concern in Connecticut, said Janice Heggie Margolis, state executive director for the Connecticut chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Though she hasn't yet received state statistics for 2010, the number of alcohol-related fatalities in the state stayed relatively consistent between 2005, when there were 98 such deaths, and 2009, when there were 99.

Though she concedes there has been progress in increasing public awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving, she said more needs to be done. Heggie Margolis said a new law will help decrease the number of incidents. The law requires all those convicted of drinking and driving to use an ignition interlock. The interlocks prevent drivers from operating their vehicles if they have been drinking. Currently, the locks are only required for second-time convicted drivers in the state. The legislation goes into effect Jan. 1.

The CDC recommended a variety of methods to curb drunken driving, including the interlocks and sobriety checkpoints, where police stop drivers to judge if they are driving under the influence. In Connecticut, such checkpoints do seem to be working, said State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said. Though he doesn't know if the overall rate of drinking and driving has fallen in the state, Vance said he has noticed a slight fall in driving while intoxicated arrests on holiday weekends, when sobriety checkpoints are more common. For instance, over Labor Day weekend this year, there were 49 arrests for driving while intoxicated -- a sharp decline over the 72 DWI arrests over the same period last year. On Memorial Day weekend in 2010, there were 76 arrests for drinking and driving. This Memorial Day weekend, there was 70 DWI arrests.

However, drinking and driving arrests over Fourth of July weekend actually went up between 2010 and 2011, from 59 to 77.

Still, Vance said the declines in DWI arrests over some long weekends is promising. "We'd certainly like to see a big goose-egg, but, as long as we can drive the numbers down, maybe we can reach zero arrests eventually," he said.

Michael Werdmann, chairman of Bridgeport Hospital's department of emergency medicine, said the tide is turning against drinking. He said when he was in college no one thought much about the dangers of drinking and driving.

"The concept of a designated driver was unheard of," said Werdmann.

But Werdmann has also seen attitudes about driving under the influence change significantly since his college days. People are expected to take more responsibility for their actions and to find ways -- like utilizing a designated driver -- to avoid getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.

"Societal tolerance of drunken driving is much less than it used to be," Werdmann said.

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